Lading separating means



Oct. 24, 1961 R. M. LOOMIS ETA].

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DDGUEUDDUBGDDDD Oct. 24, 1961 R. M. LOOMIS ET AL LADING SEPARATING MEANS Filed July 6, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 aywm F I ATTORNEYS.

Oct 1961 R. M. LOOMIS ET AL 3,065,419

LADING SEFARATING MEANS Filed July 6, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 By m ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,005,419 LADING SEPARATING'MEANS Russell M. Loomis, Palos Heights, Adolph G. Kuellmar,

Chicago, and John S. Lundvall, Park Ridge, 111., assignors to Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,207

6 Claims. (Cl. 105-376) This invention relates tolading separating means and more particularly to a door structure movable to different positions in the lading space of a car, or the like, to divide it into separate compartments or movable to a stored position in which minimum interference to use of the lading space is efiected.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide lading separating means in which doors are supported in the car to be moved easily to any desired position in the car for separating it into a plurality of compartments and in which the doors can easily be turned between their open and closed positions, 7

Another object is to provide lading separating means in which the doors are pivoted adjacent to one edge of each dooron a carriage movable lengthwise of the car and are supported at points spaced from the pivot points on arcuate tracks so that they can be easily turned between their open and closed positions.

According to a feature of the invention, the doors are securely latched in either their closed or opened positions by a simple latching mechanism.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

.FIGURE 1 is a partial horizontal section just below the roof of a car constituting, in effect, a plan view of a lading separating means embodyingthe invention;

. FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through the car; and

FIGURE 3 is a partial enlarged vertical section on a plane extending longitudinally of the car.

The lading separating means of the invention may be applied to any desired type of lading space, but is shown in connection with a railway car of conventional construction having side walls 10 and 11, a floor 12 on which lading supporting racks 13 are mounted and a roof or ceiling 14. The car may be of any standard car construction either a freight or refrigerated car and it will, of course, be apparent that the lading separating means of the invention could be applied to structures of other types, such as trucks, trailers, and the like.

The lading separating means comprises a pair of horizontal tracks 15 secured to the side walls of the car adjacent to the roof and which, as best seen in FIGURE 2, may be in the form of metal strips of channel section with upwardly extending flanges at the edges of the lower sides of the channels on which rollers or wheels may ride. A carriage, indicated generally at 16, is supported on the tracks for movement lengthwise of the car by means of grooved rollers or wheels 17 which ride on the upwardly extending flanges on the tracks, as seen in FIG- URE 2.

The carriage, asbest shown in FIGURE 1, is formed by a beam 18 spanning the width of the car and carrying rollers 17 at its ends. Angular brace members 19 extend from the central part of the carriage to side rails 21 which are connected to the beam 18 adjacent to its ends and additional rollers 17 are supported by the side rails at points spaced from the beam 18. With this construction the carriage is supported on two sets of rollers spaced longitudinally of the car so that it will slide easily on the tracks 15 without any tendency to twist or cock in the car.

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The carriage supports a pair of doors 22 which, as shown in FIGURE 3, may be of hollow construction and which provide relatively smooth outer faces to engage the lading. Each door is of a width equal to approximately one-half the width of the car so that when the doors are closed they will substantially completely fill the cross section of the car to separate it into sep arate compartments. Each door is hinged on a vertical pivot 23 adjacent to the side wall of the car on the carriage at a point close to the beam 13, as best seen in FIGURE 1. In addition, each door is supported at a point spaced from the pivotal axis 23 for swinging move ment about the pivotal axis on an arcuate track 24 supported by the beam 18, the side rails 21 and the angular braces 19. Each track is preferably of inverted channel section with the edges of the flanges turned inward to provide track surfaces on which a roller may travel, as seen in FIGURE 3. Each of the doors carries a roller, as indicated at 25, which rides on the corresponding track 24- so that each door is supported at two points adjacent to its top edge to be turned easily about its pivot 23.

In order to hold the doors in a desired position in the car, latch means are provided in each door which may be generally similar to the latch means more particularly described and claimed in our co-pending application, Serial No. 804,328, filed April 6, 1959. As shown, the latch means comprises a cross shaft 26 mounted in each door and which may be turned by a handle member 27 secured to the cross shaft and adapted to be recessed in one face of the door when the latches are engaged. Each shaft 26 carries a cross head 28 at each of its ends and the cross heads are connected by links 29' to lower latch pins 31 which can project below the lower edge of each door to engage latching strips. The latching strips are preferably in the form of channel members 32 mounted adjacent to each side wall of the car and on opposite sides of the center line of the car and formed in their upper surfaces with a series of spaced latch open ings 33, as seen in FIGURE 1.

At the upper edge of the door, the cross heads 28 are connected by links 34 to latching pins 35 adjacent to the free edges of the doors. The latching pins 35 are adapted to project vertically upward into latching engagement with openings in a latching plate 36 supported by the carriage centrally of the width of the car or openings in latching plates 37 carried by the carriage adjacent to the outer ends of the side rails 21. When the doors are in closed position extending transversely of the car, the latch pins 35 may engage the latch plate 36 and when the doors are swung adjacent and parallel to the side walls of the car the latch pins 35 may engage the openings in latch plates 37.

At the upper edges of the doors adjacent to the side walls of the car, latch pins 38 are provided which extend horizontally outward from the edges of the door to engage openings in latching strips 39. The latch pins 38 are moved by links 41 and bell crank levers 42 to be actuated simultaneously with the other latch pins 32 and 35.

In use of the invention with the latch pins retracted by swinging the handles 27 downward the carriage can be sealed lengthwise of the car along the tracks 15 to any desired position in the car. For separating the lading space into compartments, the doors may then be swung to their closed positions, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and the handles 27 may be swung up into the recesses provided therefor in the doors. This movement of the handles will extend all of the latch pins simultaneously and they will latch with the registering openings in the several latching strips to secure each of the doors firmly in position at each of its four corners. When so latched,

the doors provide a very strong and rigid lading separator which will divide the lading space of the car into separate compartments, as desired, and will maintain the lading separated against normal shocks.

When the lading space is not to be separated, the doors may be swung outward to positions adjacent and parallel to the side walls of the car and the latches may be engaged with the doors in that position. When the latch pins are moved outward from the door, the several latch pins 31 and 35 will engage respectively in the floor latch strips 32 and the latching plates 37 to hold the doors securely in their stored position adjacent to the side walls of the car. In this position, the doors create minimum interference with full unobstructed use of the lading space.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be understood that it is illustrative only and not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a car having spaced side walls, a floor and a roof, lading separating means comprising track means secured to the side walls adjacent to the upper edges thereof and extending longitudinally of the car, a carriage slidably mounted on the track means for movement longitudinally of the car thereon and extending transversely across the car, a door pivoted on the carriage on a vertical axis at the top and at the side edge of the door adjacent to a side wall of the car, an arcuate track on the carriage concentric with and spaced from said vertical axis, and supporting means carried by the top of the door spaced from said axis and slidably engaging the arcuate track and slidably supporting the top of the door on the track at a distance from the vertical axis for swinging about it.

2. The construction of claim 1 including latching strips in the car adjacent to the top and bottom of the door and formed with a series of spaced latching elements, latching elements on the carriage aligned with certain of the first named latching elements, movable latching parts on the door simultaneously engageable with said latching elements on the latching strips and on the carriage respectively, and operating means to move the latching parts to their latched and unlatched positions.

3. The construction of claim 2 in which the latching elements on the carriage include a latching element centrally of the car to be engaged by one of the latching parts at the top of the door remote from its pivot when the door is swung transverse to the car and a latching element adjacent to the car side wall to be engaged by said one of the latching parts when the door is swung close to the side wall.

4. In a car having spaced side walls, a floor and a roof, lading separating means comprising elongated tracks carried by the side walls of the car adjacent to the roof, a carriage movably supported on the tracks and spanning the car width, a pair of vertical doors each pivoted on the carriage on a vertical axis adjacent to a side wall of the car and at the top and one edge of the door, a pair of horizontal arcuate tracks on the carriage concentric with and spaced from the pivotal axes respectively, and followers carried by the tops of the doors spaced from the axis respectively engaging the arcuate tracks respectively and supporting the doors therefrom.

5. The construction of claim 4 including latching strips on the side walls of the car adjacent to the firstnamed tracks and on the floor of the car adjacent to the side walls and along the center of the car, each strip having a series of spaced latching elements, movable latching parts carried by the doors to engage the respective latching elements, and means to move the latching parts.

6. The construction of claim 5 in which the carriage carries latching elements adjacent the center of the car and the side walls thereof to be engaged by latching parts at the top of the door adjacent to the free edge thereof when the door is respectively transverse to the car and adjacent to the car side wall.

References Cited 'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,396,769 Mather Nov. 15, 1921 2,155,463 Angell Apr. 25, 1939 2,517,823 Angell Aug. 8, 1950 2,543,143 Wells et al. Feb. 27, 1951 2,674,207 Kerbaugh et a1. Apr. 6, 1954 

